Ministry, community become passion for Sister Delaney (Sr. Maureen Delaney, SNJM, is the Director of the Tutwiler Community Education Center, an outreach of the Tutwiler Clinic — both are ministries of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary in the Mississippi Delta. For more info, go to www.tutwilercenter.org)
By Fr. Kent Bowlds
“This is really an exciting time for religious life,” says Sister Maureen Delaney, “because things are changing; the life will continue, but in a different way than I have experienced it. And we need people who are able to think, talk, pray, and develop something new that is going to meet the needs of this time.”
Even with all of the past changes — such as entering the Holy Names Sisters back when the numbers were high, teaching in Catholic schools while dressed in full habit, then later doing community organizing in California, and finally moving to the Mississippi Delta — what remains unchanged is Sister Delaney’s love of her ministry and her subtly joyful dedication to this way of life.
The Holy Names Sisters, who taught at the high school she attended in Oakland, Calif., often encouraged Sister Delaney and others to consider a religious vocation, and she had thought about it for a long time. She and seven other classmates (out of 125) entered the convent right after high school graduation in the early 1960s.
It was the relationship with the sisters that drew them. “I liked the sisters; they gave us a great education and were strict, but were very good and caring to all of us. I just thought, ‘I would like to be with these people, helping others, too.’”
The idea was not totally foreign to Sister Delaney, whose older brother was in seminary at the time (now a priest in Los Angeles), while her sister had joined the Holy Names before her. “I thought that everyone would think I wanted to become a nun just because of them.”
Her father had died while she was in high school, leaving Sister Delaney the only child at home. When she asked God whether she should stay home to be with her mother or leave to join the Holy Names, the answer came not through a voice from God in prayer but through the words of those she asked for help, including priests and religious sisters.
“I thought that if this is what God wanted me to do, then they would help me figure it out,” she said. They did so, and then assured by her mother that she would be fine at home without her, Sister Delaney felt encouraged to follow her desire to become a religious sister. “The events just kind of gently unfolded.”
Always discerning where God might be calling her next, it is still this gentle unfolding that, for Sister Delaney, is a strong indication of where God’s will lies. “I just ask God to keep me open to any new opportunities or directions, and every once in a while different ministry possibilities present themselves.
“Then I play out the scenario in my mind, thinking about whether it would be a good fit for me, or if it would need what I could bring to it, always asking the question, ‘is it just me, or is it really the Spirit leading me?’”
At one point, for example, she left her name in for consideration to become the head of the California province of the Holy Names, but realized the possibility was causing a lot of mental turmoil without much settling down.
“There was lack of a sense of peace, very unlike when I decided to leave California to come to Mississippi — a major decision, certainly, but it was so peaceful, and I was excited and drawn to it.”
For now Sister Delaney feels called to be exactly where she is, in Tutwiler (pop. 1500) in the heart of the Mississippi Delta directing the Community Education Center, coordinating activities for all ages — after school programs for young children and teens, life skills discussions with youth, fitness programs in the gym, selling the quilts made by local senior citizens, and more.
“It’s bringing people together and seeing a spark of energy as people learn and grow, and empowering them to help each other. Just last night we had a sports awards banquet, and about 85 people attended, which for us is a good crowd. It was so great to see the community gathered here and the kids being so happy just to receive their trophies.”
For Sister Delaney, though she certainly values marriage and the raising of children, her ministry and community have become her passion and family.
Like the other religious communities in our diocese, Sister Delaney and the Holy Names Sisters would welcome any interested woman to come and visit them. “If anyone is contemplating religious life, I would encourage them to stick with it and talk to other sisters,” she says, inviting others to come share their vision and mission. (“Hearing the Call” is a series of interviews with people who “have welcomed Christ’s call . . . to proclaim the Good News everywhere in the world” (Catechism, par. #3). To submit ideas or comments contact Fr. Kent Bowlds, vocation director, website: jacksonvocations.com, 601-720-7273.)
